NCAA Establishes Hotline to Report Potential COVID-19 Safety Concerns

The NCAA announced it set up a dedicated phone number to allow athletes, parents or other involved parties to report any concerns they might have regarding safety protocols the COVID-19 pandemic.

"The Association will notify school and conference administrators, who will be expected to review and address concerns," the NCAA said.

The organization had previously laid out the guidelines it was requiring of any conferences that wished to stage fall sports. The document listed a hotline that would be in place before Friday.

Rather than issuing a blanket decision, the NCAA allowed for each of the three divisions to make its own determination regarding the fate of fall sports.

As a result, the potential for Division I fall seasons remained on the table. The odds of that happening are diminishing by the day as university and conference administrators come to terms with the difficulty of staging events during a global pandemic.

The Big Ten canceled its fall sports for the 2020-21 season with the hope of picking them up in the spring. The Pac-12 went a step further when it postponed all of its sporting events for the remainder of the calendar year.

The Mid-American Conference and Mountain West had previously announced they were wiping out their fall schedules.

Divisions II and III voted to cancel all fall sports championships, though schools and conferences are still left to make their own decisions about competing this season.

Regardless of whether sports happen in the next few months or not, a report by the Coloradoan's Miles Blumhardt underscored the need for continued oversight by governing bodies.

Blumhardt spoke with multiple players and athletic department staffers at Colorado State. Those interviewed said football coaches "told players not to report COVID-19 symptoms, threatened players with reduced playing time if they quarantine." The school was also alleged to have tampered with contact tracing reports so as to allow for certain players to continue working out.